News

Plans for A1 upgrade go on show to public

PLANS for a major project that will continue the upgrade of the A1 from a dual carriageway to a three-lane motorway have gone on display.

Details of the upgrade from Leeming Bar to Barton were presented at Bridge House Hotel, Catterick, showing how the £314m project will improve the road’s capability to deal with flooding, safety and access for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.

Once completed, the route will be a continuous motorway from London to Newcastle, including the M1 and A1M – cutting journey times by around 20 per cent, saving an estimated 100 lives and preventing more than 650 serious causalities over a 60-year period.

Mark Lee, the Highways Agency’s senior construction manager, said: “We hope to have the construction work starting in early 2014.

“The main job at the moment is to acquire all the land needed for the job, which involves working with around 70 to 80 private landowners.

“The part of the A1 that got so badly flooded last year will be completely by-passed and a new road built.

“There will be completely up-to-date drainage systems in place so that kind of flooding should not happen again.

“We are working very closely with the Environment Agency, North Yorkshire County Council and local land owners to ensure we get the drainage systems right.

“It will be a couple of years of disruption for long term traffic and safety benefits.”

The plans include two new junctions at Catterick and Scotch Corner to improve safety by stopping traffic using the small access junctions currently in use, and create a direct route into the garrison from the motorway to take traffic away from Catterick Village.

English Heritage will be working closely with the Highways Agency to ensure the Roman road at Catterick Bridge and areas of archaeological importance will be dealt with sensitively.